Group names Worthington's Tucker superintendent of year

The superintendent of Worthington schools has been named the Superintendent of the Year by the
National Alliance of Black School Educators.

At its national conference in Detroit next week, the group will honor Tucker for his work to
raise student achievement since he became leader of the district of 9,000 two years ago.

The alliance, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., is “the nation's premier nonprofit
organization devoted to furthering the academic success for the nation's children –– particularly
children of African descent,” according to the group’s website.

Since the district hired Tucker in 2011, test scores and ratings by the state have improved.

The district’s performance index, a measurement based on state exam results, ranks No. 108 in
the state out of more than 600 districts, up 20 spots since Tucker took over.

Worthington was one of eight districts in Ohio and the only one in central Ohio to earn an A
grade on all four categories of the state’s “value-added” calculation, which measures how much
progress groups of students make in a year. The district’s overall value-added score ranked No. 52
in the state, putting it in the top 9 percent.

Tucker has areas he wants to improve, too. Worthington was one of many districts that received
low marks on the state’s new Annual Measurable Objectives calculation, which gauges how well
districts close gaps between groups of students of different demographics, such as race and family
income. The Worthington district received a D grade in that category for its work last school
year.

One other Ohio school employee will win an award from the alliance this year. Tawana Lynn Keels,
a member of the board of education in Princeton City Schools in Cincinnati, will be awarded the
School Board Member of the Year Award.